Board game for the lawyer in all of us...

The Ace Attorney games are known throughout the Internet for the “Objection!” and pointing and ridiculous prosecutor theatrics. Most of the fandom loves what takes on inside the courtroom as opposed to outside. The fact that the courtroom theatrics is what gets fans to talk about Ace Attorney, I would think that the hilarious comedy of this part of the game would make an interesting board game. But I would think that Phoenix and Edgeworth would have to be the main characters.

The board might be set up so that one person is the defense attorney (Phoenix), and the other is the prosecutor (Edgeworth). The art would look just like the court room in the game, with the lawyers (and pictures of them) on opposite sides and the judge (nonplayer) on the top. Witness stand in the center. Maybe colorform witnesses or something. Haha Remember colorforms?

The players would agree on a case from the beginning off the game, out of about five in the manual. One witness would come with each case, and the prosecutor would have twenty incriminating (but hilarious) witness statements to use against the defendant (HOLD IT! cards). On the defendant’s side, the player would be given fifteen evidence/people cards to use against the prosecution (TAKE THAT! cards). Each player would start out with a certain amount of points, and losing a round would cause the player to be penalized points by the judge (who is not actually a player, but he’s got a position on the board).

Each TAKE THAT card would have two different evidence weaknesses that would cause the prosecutor to lose points if the defendant uses one of those cards in the turn. The same goes for the defendant, although neither player knows of the other’s weaknesses. Round scenario: If the defendant rolls a higher number on the dice, then the defendant gets to pick any card from his deck of evidence. The prosecutor would have to guess which of his incriminating statements proves that evidence wrong (meaning, which statement is the weakness to that evidence). If the prosecutor guesses right, the defendant is penalized. If prosecutor wrong, than prosecutor is penalized. However, the defendant’s HOLD IT card gets to be recycled into hand if he loses the round, and discarded if he winds. The prosecutor must discard his TAKE THAT card if he wins the round, and recycled into hand if he loses. The game ends when someone loses all of their points.

Player is allowed three OBJECTION! cards each game. An OBJECTION forces the player who goes second in the round to rely on chance for picking either they TAKE THAT or HOLD IT cards. Also, if the players tie when they roll the dice, Maya and Detective Gumshoe have a burger and sausage eating contest that takes soooo long that Phoenix and Edgeworth are forced to decide who goes first in a rock-paper-scissors match.

Oh, and you have to shout OBJECTION! HOLD IT! and TAKE THAT! every time you use one of those cards. It’s an Ace Attorney thing, lol.

And now for the good parts..

Just kidding. Now it's time to talk about all I things that went oh so wrong while I was playing Apollo Justice. While the characters and plots were exciting and hilarious, I must admit that the interface wasn't what I would have chosen for a lawyer game where you also have to be a private investigator, body guard, and babysitter. I would think that the manual interface for something like that could be Gamecube or PS3. I say this because the DS does not work particularly well for games that require hours of extensive evidence investigation. I would personally be more comfortable sitting in front of my TV to figure these cases out. But that's just me. I like to play the quick and easy games on my portable handheld consols.

Speaking of handhelds, the DS touch screen was barely utilized for anything of importance. Getting the fingerprints and footprints and analyzing evidence would have been just as easy had I only had one screen and controls to mash. Reminds me of my latest favorite game (also for the DS): Pokemon Platinum. The touch screen is for lame applications that you could probably access and use without a dual screen.

Apollo Justice is a weird genre. It's not RP, because there's hardly any management over characters. It's similar to adventure, I suppose. But I wish this were a little more well defined. I can't control what Apollo says or does inthe situations I put him in. The story plays out like a novel, and the levels I get through act like keys to access the next page in the story. I would have enjoyed a little more choice in what I communicate to other characters. Presenting specific evidence in court does not account for the fact that there are many logical things I could be getting Apollo to understand.

Level design- the environment is not elaborate enough to be murder scenes. There are NEVER police, and there's just too much comedy. Unrealistic settings make for unrealistic actions needed to be done to finish the level and get one to the court case. The anime-like atmosphere and jokes may compliment the characters a bit, but certainly not the topic of the game. A courtroom is serious business. Why they let witnesses and potential walk in with knives and rotting fish...well it just doesn't make sesne for the game. I understand the comedy the developers were aiming for...but no. Just no.

It's strange how the characters and the plot can somehow still be okay despite the interface and other issues. One wold think that all of those things would need to compliment each other. There were so many unnessesary activities that the poor defense lawyer had to do (while being followed around by Phoenix Wright's dangerously annoying daughter I might add)...one such activity being fingerprinting. Since when does a defense lawyer have to go to the scene of the crime and do the police's job? Plus, there's really no strategy or skill involved in taking a fingerprint. I'm waiting for the game where Apollo gains x-ray vision from an ankle bracelet and suddenly can see into the minds of the witnesses. And of course, he'd get to ask all the questions. I would have to sit back and wach the novel play out.

What the heck was Apollo Justice good for?

The strengths of the Apollo Justice game, as with all of the Ace Attorney games, is in the characters and storytelling. I could not have picked a more hilarious and interesting group of characters for a court room if I tried. The hero's journey was well defined in all four cases, and each case had it's own tiny climax that helped build up the background storyline for the final case (which always personally involves main characters in the defendant's chair for some reason. Probably to intensify dramatic tension.) I loves how my attention got shifted constantly throughout the investigation, as the little character driven side quests were always fun and always helped me find evidence for the case.

The characters were my favorite element of the game. Absolutely fantastic. Of course, I've always been a sucker for amazing character-driven stories, so I might be a little biased here. A lot of people enjoy games that allow for good player interaction and gameplay. I, instead, go for the games that can give me the best story of my life without too much complicated controls and gameplay. Good thing there was no time limits either. I would never had been able to investigate everything and learn about all of the characters without doing things at my own pace. Fantasy characters and the anime-like artistic setting allowed for an anime fan like myself to enjoy such a "Visual Novel" type game as Apollo Justice. I did, in fact, learn to love Apollo as the game progressed. And this is important for the creation of a good hero character. If a player feels as though they hate the protagonist, or if the protagonist is not getting anhy better at whatever they do, then the player will feel detatched from the game. This was definietly not the case. Heck, I even started to appreciate the pretty boy rock star antagonist, Klavier Gavin. But mostly because the script's dialogue and character interaction kept me either laughing or on the edge of my seat. Yes, it's totally possible to be on the edge of your seat when playing a handheld videogame.

I would say that the interface for Apollo Justice was strong enough that at least it was worth playing on a Nintendo DS. The adventure-specific features and the ability to save any time were also very appropriate for the type of game. A handheld device is definitely the best platform for a lawyer game that requires the same concentration as a well-developed novel.

Winning the case

@_@ Wrote this post but completely forgot to post it last week in the midst of all my paper stress. Wow, I coulda sworn I posted it. So...I guess I lose the game of life, but at least I don't lose Apollo Justice.

Again, there's only one winner in Apollo Justice, unless of course you count the defendant as a winner along with you as the attorney. Getting a Not Guilty Verdict is the game's win condition. Hardly any strategy guides or explanations are needed to understand that. The game is a little odd in that you have to win 4 times in 4 separate cases in order to finish the game. However, what you do to win one case has virtually nothing to do with the cases that follow. They are separate episodes only linked together through characters development.

The game's victory conditions are mostly based on Apollo being competent enough at defending to get a Not Guilty verdict. There are four victories- and like I said, each case had the same win condition of getting a Not Guilty verdict for your client. Certainly, there are many things the player must investigate and unlock in order for this to occur...but in the end you are only trying to win the case as a defense attorney.

I wish there were multiple victory conditions, but the story doesn't really work any other way than defending someone in court. Implicit loss conditions are the same, of course: you lose if you get the Guilty verdict. You cannot run out of resources unless doing so is part of the storyline the game is taking you through. Basically, everything happens for a reason. You can't lose evidence and you can't die. The only way to fail is to lose points in court by presenting incorrect evidence or statements. The player is only interacting with the platform, and there is no competition between the player and other players. This means that it is only YOU who can make yourself win, and only YOU who can make yourself lose. If you fond everything and save your game before difficult court questioning, there should be no reason for your player to lose the case. But even then, you are only required to start again from the last place you saved.

Air guitar in the courtroom

Audio is as important to Apollo Justice's atmosphere as any other game. While the audio is not essential to the plot, it does add to the overall enjoyment. The only spoken dialogue comes about when Apollo or Klavier shout "OBJECTION!" "TAKE THAT!" or "HOLD IT!". This had basically been a staple of all four Ace Attorney games. The voice even changes depending on the character. These voiceovers are not exactly used for any narration or dialogue, and are used more for sound effect purposes. I did notice, however, that when Phoenix shouted "OBJECTION!" during the first case where he was the defendent, my heart almost skipped a beat as I recognized his voice from the previos games. Phoenix was known to shout "OBJECTION!" at pretty much anything that moved. When he yelled it instead of Apollo during the first trial, I was immediately nostalgic, as an Ace Attorney fan.

The music is all in MIDI format, with semi-okay quality. I've played other DS games with better music. This music is fitting of Gameboy Advanced games instead of DS. Because of this, I feel like I can group together the four games and talk about all of their audio at the same time. The sound effects in the Ace Attorney games are few and far between, and only subtely add to the atmosphere. Effects include when the judge's gavel hits, when Apollo's slams his fists down on the table in court, when ink or powder needs to be used in fingerprinting, or when a gunshot is fired during a cut scene. Without these effects, and without the background noise during exploration, I would definitely notice a change. Music plays throughout the entire game, and changes depending on mood. If the player finds themselves suddenly wrapped up in a mysterious event while investigating, the music will change to fit the dramatic mood.

The soundtrack for Apollo Justice is similar in atmospheric feel to that of the previous Ace Attorney games. The epic chiming music that always plays when entering the courtroom makes me laugh, reminding me that a court battle can have something in common with a Pokemon battle after all. All the music is score and it always loops (which is good, considering there are not time limits), not songs. I don't know if the DS has any games with songs that have vocals or well-known artists. But then again, I don't play very many DS games.

More Gameplay, Level

My images are not working right now, so for now just bear with me guys ><.

There's only one winner in Apollo Justice, unless of course you count the defendant as a winner along with you as the attorney. The game's victory conditions are mostly based on Apollo being competent enough at defending to get a Not Guilty verdict. In a way, there are four victories- one for case that the player must get through, each having basically the same condition. I wish there were multiple victory conditions, but the story doesn't really work any other way than defending someone in court. Implicit loss conditions are the same, of course: you lose if you get the Guilty verdict.

Game theory applied to the types of conflicts that exist in a game, and hoe the player responds to the conflicts. Apollo has more challenges in the game than one might think. For the most part, the challenges are "zero-sum", which means that it is impossible for both sides to ulitimately get what they want. However, the night is still young. I have not played the final case yet, but I wonder if Apollo may end up helping the prosecutor somehow. In previous games, Phoenix would win a case against Edgeworth for the sole purpose of helping Edgeworth get the not guilty verdict on a case he was forced to participate in. Challenges are based mostly on the story, but there it really no strategy involved in order to get past these challenges-the player will always figure out what to do eventually, without having to worry about any other players standing in their way. I found these specific challenges in Apollo Justice: Advancement to reach a the second day of each trial; puzzle-solving when figuring out codes for safes and footprint analysis; exploration of each area that might include evidence or people to talk to; conflict between the two sides in court; and outwit, which uses knowledge to defeat the opponent (Apollo has to do a great deal of this last one).

Types of challenges relate to the genre, and I can say with ease that no part of Apollo Justice seems innapropriate for the adventure-visual novel-comedy genre combo. Apollo is provided with a lot of imperfect information. It's all part of the challenge of being a defense attorney- he gets evidence that he doesn't fully understand, and then must make the best desicision he can with this evidence in court. Imperfect information like the evidence allows the player to feel more engaged in participating in the world of Apollo Justice. It's almost like a mystery, as you don't know what evidence is going to prove what until a witness triggors Apollo's thought process. Sometimes the player themselves doesn't even know how Apollo is going to explain the evidence. However, extrinsic knowledge can be of great assistence to the player, especially when it comes to understanding the evidence. The court system in Apollo Justice is not exactly a mirror image of ANY real court system, so the extrinsic knowledge can only go so far to meet the challenges of the game.

Apollo Justice does incorporate level into the gameplay. Different environments, differerent days of investigation and trial, different missions that must be accomplished before trial begins...these are all part of level design. The levels help structure the game mostly, dividing two investigation days and two trial days. The objective of the investigation levels are to explore each area and find every piece of evidence and get all information from people you meet. Only then will the game allow you to advance to trial. Think of the mess you'd be in if you went to trial without all the proper evidence! Actually, that might make the game a little more challenging to play...but also much more tedious. The investigation days have a particular flow: Apollo is prevented from gaining new information from a certain area until he picks up the right evidence from another area. If he doesn't find those lost medical forms in the safe, there's no way he can get medical information from the retired doctor who's helping with the case. Some of these objectives are self-explanitory, and some the player really has to think about. Like, how was I supposed to know that the slippers I found in the garbage can would unlock a new piece of information if I present them to the police detective?

As far as progression is concerned, the game doesn't exactly get more difficult with each level. However, each of the four cases are more difficult than the first. They build on Apollo's skill and confidence that he gains in the prior cases. Other than this, difficulty is mostly flat. The player will not find the fourth case horrifyingly difficult compared to the first, although the unfolding murder story in the fourth case may require investigation methods that differ from the methods of other cases.

The concept of time depends on the flow. Passage of time is a game characteristic- the date and time change with each level, but do not change until the player has found all evidence. The trial day, on the other hand, only changes when Apollo can prove that the case has enough evidence to extend the trial. Time does not pass until all goals are met...so there isn't a time limit (thank god!)

As I mentioned in previous entries, the POV changes: the player sees through Apollo's eyes during investigation, and the player follows the trials in third person in order to see Apollo's reactions in court (which are ALWAYS hilarious). The POV is related to the perspective, or how the player views the game environment. The view is mostly just side-scrolling- but each exploration area is mostly viewable completely in just one screen. The camera doesn't move a whole lot, as technically the only way you can move Apollo is if you leave an area and go to the next one. The boundaries of the game limit the player to about a dozen investigation screens per case. Scale is never distorted- the size of the space is not much of an issue when looking through Apollo's eyes. He could be standing at virtually any distance. The evidence can be analyzed by zooming in using the menu options.

Creative titles escape me...but this is a post on interface ><

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is, as I've mentioned before, not a quick game to play. The player has to invest a lot of time and patience and thought in order to get through the endless supply of witness testimonies and Ema's annoying banter. The courtroom sessions are the worst, especially if you're the type of person who wants to use their handheld console for quick and easy games. If they could have made Apollo Justice a computer game, I think at least then it would serve the right audience: those who have the time to sit in front of their computers for hours on end. The good part about all this is the saving interface. No matter how crazy the debate gets over saving a video game, that doesn't apply AT ALL for this one. The player is allowed to save an infinite amount of times to a single save slot on the game cartridge. There are so few ways to lose the game or do anything wrong, as I mentioned in my slightly bitter post from last week, that it doesn't seem like a problem to be able to save whenever I feel like it.

As far as the other active interface is concerned, the menu system allows for saving options, new game options, and (if you've finished previous cases) a chance to replay cases. Your inventory, expertise, and courtroom status bar does not carry over to each case. This allows for pretty much anyone to pick up your DS, play a case you've already beaten in pretty much the exact same way you did, and hand it back to you having not changed anything in the unplayed parts of the game. Heh, okay that doesn't really make sense. Basically, there is only one way to play the game, and everyone plays it the exact same way and needs to find the exact same evidence. Like I said, it's a novel disguised as a video game. And it's not exactly one of those cute "choose your own adventure" novels.

A lot of the active, manipulatable interface in Apollo Justice might be considered dysfunctional to anyone who's never played a visual novel type game before. The controls (such as the footprinting and analysis) can be pretty cryptic and seem to be an utterly useless way of adding DS touchscreen features to a game that REALLY does not need two screens.








In real life, you don't have the footprints of every single person you meet.








Nothing is customizable, and the tasks are defined. BUT! As an adventure type game, it does offer a few of the best types of interface for adventurers: inventory, navigation control (sort of), point-and-click, etc. The player does have a minimal amount of input, choices, and means on communication. I'm very happy that at least when you are talking to people, the game gives you choices of how you want to get the information out of them:


















Apollo Justice offers some platform-specific features, but many I feel could be used with just one screen as well. However, the game does allow you to watch the action taking place, the areas being investigated, and the people talking, while also being able to check inventory and profiles at the same time. The options are always on the bottom touchscreen, while the action takes place on the top screen. Apollo Justice is the first Ace Attorney game to be originally created for the DS (the first three games were made for Gameboy Advance and then later adapted to the DS). This offer some new and interesting ways to use the touchscreen, such as the "perceive" function. This allows you to slow down the witnesses' testimony and zoom in on their appearance in order to watch their nervous habits while they lie to you on the witness stand. The zooming in is certainly not something a player could do without a touchscreen, although I suppose it's possible. I'm pretty sure that horrid footprinting business could be done on one screen as well.









Drugs, Apollo. LSD is what's going on.
















Hmm, decisions, decisions.









I the passive interface in Apollo Justice is everything that player's cannot interact with or change. Although you can examine the evidence, you cannot alter your evidence or inventory. Locations can only be manipulated when you take evidence from the scene, and the Apollo's abilities will always be the same three things: "Take That!", "Hold It!", and "Objection!". Trucy, however, seems to be gaining more magical ability as the game progresses. Too bad she's not a psychic spirit medium like my assistant was in the previous Ace Attorney games.








Fighting-style splitscreen animation: because no courtroom is complete without a Pokemon battle.
















You can't key this guy's car, but at least you get to analyze his girly cell phone. A mixture of active and passive interface.







Overall, the usability of Apollo Justice, based on the interface, is simplistic in spite of the long, drawn out storyline. The game would probably take FOREVER if the player was given more options and controls...and tampering with more than this game currently allows you t would probably not result in anything fitting to the storyline or characters. I am playing as a lawyer after all. Don't want to seem like I'm cheating too much.